


After Hours

by inelegantly (Lir)



Series: SASO 2015 Fills [13]
Category: Love Live! School Idol Project
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Challenge: Sports Anime Shipping Olympics | SASO 2015, F/F, Friends to Lovers, Gryffindor Eli, Gryffindor/Slytherin Inter-House Relationships, Slytherin Nozomi, Wordcount: 100-2.000
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-19
Updated: 2015-07-19
Packaged: 2018-04-10 02:59:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4374629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lir/pseuds/inelegantly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As a sixth-year, Eli has had a year to grow used to her prefect girlfriend's steady devotion to enforcing the rules of the school. Nevertheless, she can't help but become suspicious at Nozomi's suggestion that they work together to patrol the halls, not when she is equally used to the way Nozomi always has an ulterior motive to any innocent proposition.</p>
            </blockquote>





	After Hours

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for the second bonus round of the 2015 [Sports Anime Shipping Olympics](http://sportsanime.dreamwidth.org), where the theme of the round is AUs. The prompt I am working from was, "Hogwarts AU where Eli is the most Gryffindor Gryffindor to ever Gryffindor and Nozomi is her Slytherin girlfriend."
> 
> Realtalk, my personal, ideal casting would be Slytherin Eli and Hufflepuff Nozomi. But a really good case can be made for Gryffindor Eli, and I had a lot of fun writing to the spirit of this prompt, because I really love Hogwarts AUs.

-

"We'll work together," Nozomi says. "What's so wrong with that?" 

"It isn't that I have a problem with the idea," Eli replies. "It's more than I disbelieve your commitment to getting work done." 

"Eli," Nozomi says, drawing back with a theatrical flinch just broad enough to show that she's been hurt. "Have I ever taken my prefect duties anything other than entirely seriously?" 

Eli is silent a moment, lips pressed firmly closed on words she knows she cannot speak. Nozomi is right; sneaky though Eli knows her girlfriend can be (and in the true tradition of her house), she is nothing if not dedicated to the tasks and responsibilities she takes on. Perhaps it would be one thing if they were still fifth-years, newly come into their prefect positions and only just embarking on a new stage of the relationship they'd fostered back during their very first days at Hogwarts. 

But they are sixth-years now, and Eli has already witnessed a year of her girlfriend's steady devotion to enforcing the rules of the school. It would be an outright lie, to insinuate that Nozomi is anything other than skilled in her position. 

"I'm not saying you don't take being a prefect seriously," Eli settles on saying. "It's more that I understand you to never have only a single motivation for doing something, and I'm not certain I should encourage whatever less obvious plan has led you to propose this working partnership." 

"That may be true," Nozomi says, smiling and making no attempt to deny Eli's insinuation, "but who says a secondary motivation will hinder our work performance? For all you know, it may make us twice as productive." 

"That's impossible," Eli says, seizing on the flaw in Nozomi's logic. "We are already both very efficient in catching rule-breakers. In order for us to be twice as productive, there would need to be twice as many rule-breakers in the school." 

She smiles back at Nozomi, badly trying not to appear smug. "If there was suddenly twice the amount of flaunting the school guidelines, I would have to consider that a drop in our performance, even if we did catch every student out after curfew and every enterprising rule-breaker." 

"That isn't what I meant," Nozomi says, shaking her head, "and you know it." 

Eli shrugs, allowing her silence to imply the playful 'well, then you should have said what you meant in truth.' 

"Eli..." Nozomi says, voice dropping and becoming more serious. She steps toward Eli across the torchlit hall, and even though it's late and few other people should have permission to be out of bed at all, Eli can't help almost stepping back out of fear that someone will appear to witness her fraternizing on the clock. 

Nozomi catches her hand and she pauses, arrested in the process of lifting her foot to move away. 

"Maybe I just like your company," Nozomi says, leaned in so close that their noses almost brush. "Maybe I want you to agree to work with me when we're patrolling the halls so we can spend this time together. This is our last year before NEWTs. We both know we have precious little free time." 

Eli glances away, her cheeks darkening with an embarrassed flush, though she doesn't pull her hands out of Nozomi's warm, certain grip. But she's unwilling to let her nervousness overcome her, and with a silent reminder that Gryffindors are brave, she returns her gaze to meet Nozomi's eyes. 

"We won't be as efficient," Eli says, speaking just as softly as Nozomi had. It's the last protest she can muster. "If we aren't working together, we can cover twice as much ground, and make certain students aren't sneaking around us. It's only smarter, to do this job alone." 

"We'll work harder, then," Nozomi says. "I don't think it would be so bad, staying out later with you." 

"It won't be good, for our getting a full night of sleep." But Eli can tell already, she no longer intends to pursue the argument toward victory. "And we may not be as attentive to our surroundings, with each other's company to distract us." 

"I'll be sure to be very attentive," Nozomi says, leaning across the small gap between them to kiss Eli on her cheek, just beside the corner of her mouth. "You know that I can do that." 

Eli's face flushes warmer than before, but this time she makes absolutely certain not to drop her gaze. "Yes, I have happened to witness quite how attentive you can be, a time or two before." 

"I could remind you," Nozomi says. 

Her mouth presses to Eli's again, this time a bit further over her lips, in a teasing kiss that still hasn't found its mark. Eli can't help but smiling, lips curving up so close to Nozomi's lips, and Nozomi drops her another kiss, this time squarely on her mouth and where Eli can return it. She's quick in pressing back, after all of Nozomi's sneaky teasing. 

"We were working," Eli says, when she pulls away. "This is not doing a lot to persuade me of the efficacy of our new work partnership." 

"Of course not," Nozomi says, letting Eli's hands drop. But as she turns to face with Eli down the hall, her fingers brush the back of Eli's hand once again, and she slides her palm to cup warmly against Eli's palm. "Let's correct that. Come on now! We have hallways to patrol." 

Eli can only shake her head, as Nozomi tugs lightly at her arm and takes the first few purposeful strides down the corridor. She feels as if she's the one being chastised, improperly when she was the one attempting to best maintain their enforcing of the rules. She feels as if she's lost the argument — officially, when she'd already resigned herself to Nozomi wheedling her around to seeing things Nozomi's way. 

But Gryffindors are nothing if not chivalrous, and with that thought in mind, Eli allows Nozomi to lead her down the hall, fingers linked together and with the smile from when Nozomi had kissed her still lingering on her lips. 

-

-


End file.
